


More than Words

by andthekitchensink



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pining, Valentine's Day Fic Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22724350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andthekitchensink/pseuds/andthekitchensink
Summary: Simon ruminates on the state of things after the android revolution, and becomes increasingly infatuated with the leader of said revolution, Markus. Time passes, during which Simon convinces himself he doesn’t need a companion, and furthermore, North would be much better suited to someone like Markus.But then, on Valentine’s Day, someone leaves him an unexpected gift: a card with a cryptic message. A hand painted, hand written card. Simon has no other choice than to take a leap of faith.
Relationships: Markus/Simon (Detroit: Become Human)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 94
Collections: Hankcon and Other Ships Valentines Exchange





	More than Words

**Author's Note:**

> This is my humble contribution to this year's Valentine's Exchange, for Canuck! I hope you like it, and I wish you a lovely Valentine's Day :)

* * *

If there was one thing Simon was missing from his life, it was a sense of direction. Ever since he ‘deviated’ some two years ago, he’d been drifting - a sailor lost at sea, or something equally poignant. The sad truth of it, however, was that he’d found nothing resembling direction after he woke up. Nothing like the epiphany of self-awareness that so many others described when coming to Jericho, but he had a vaguely formed theory about that, himself - as far as he could describe it, deviating had been a gradual sort of awakening. Incremental. Creeping forward. He didn’t feel any different the day he left his owner’s home compared to the day before, or the day before that, and so on. There was nothing discernibly different about him. He was still Simon. He had the same skills, the same outlook on life, and precious little to back it up by way of experience. His had been a domestic existence, one which he’d had no issues with. He just wanted to be free, to be the one to forge his own happiness...or however the saying goes. One day he realized there was nothing keeping him, there was nothing to stop him from leaving. His owner was dead, and he had become part of the inventory. He had no ties, legal or otherwise to his new owners. So he left.

And still - no sense of direction, just a desire to create a safe haven for others like him, who found themselves with nowhere to go, nowhere to turn to. Jericho, which, for all it came to symbolize for the android community, even that was never enough to cause a spark. Quite the opposite. For every day that passed him by he’d sink deeper into a state of complacence so unforgiving he struggled to remember why. Why leave, why squat in a rusting old freighter like scurrying mice, why?

And then Markus crashed into his life, upsetting everything he’d started taking for granted. He questioned them, dismissing Jericho as a safe harbor for androids, opening everyone’s eyes to what it had become, and (if Simon was honest with himself) what it had always been. A dark hole to hide in, and wait for inevitable deactivation. He’d certainly opened Simon’s eyes, with his outspoken, brazen, borderline arrogance, full of tempered heat and  _ fire _ . In the course of one day, Simon had gone from slipping into standby out of sheer incapacity to wide-eyed empowerment. Through Markus’s conviction, the entire community gained forward momentum, a sense of renewal. Restoration.

In a matter of days, he’d developed what he thought (with a sense of tacit alarm) was an unhealthy fixation: he wanted to understand Markus, be close to him beyond the purely physical, he wanted a connection that simply wasn’t there…

Every time he mustered up the courage to speak, say something, anything at all, he opted out at the very last second. Why? Because it was all too easy to convince oneself that it was all a figment of imagination and longing. The way Markus looked at him made him feel reset, fresh from the factory, no spare parts as far as a scan could tell. The way he listened, the way he confided in him, saved his life again and again just by being there. They had a connection, he  _ knew it _ , but every last time he felt a resurgence of confidence, all it took was catching a look passing between Markus and North.

Strong, competent, passionate North, fuelled by the same undying fire as their newest leader, and she burned even brighter. How could anyone compare to her? The long answer was mired in self doubt, and a cynicism that had set in early on in his so-called ‘deviancy’. The short answer was simpler. To the point: He didn’t.

***

Days turned into weeks, which turned into months, and before he knew it the year had ended and they were well into the new one. Tensions between androids and humans were easing up further, but with the slow gears of human bureaucracy it seemed as though android rights was a pipedream. As well intentioned the president, things were slow going to the point of stagnation, and Simon couldn’t escape the feeling that they were moving backwards. November 11, they’d won the battle, but they had yet to win the war, and he was...fatigued. He didn’t know what other word to put to it. Could androids slip into a state of depression?

Then again, he was more likely to be a pining mess of wires all tangled up at the sight of his...his... _ friend _ . They  _ were _ friends. Allies. Comrades-in-arms of different opinions on many a varied thing, but... Friends. Confidantes, forever and ever, and they could wait for android rights, they could keep marching, keep protesting, keep on keeping everyone safe. As long as CyberLife continued manufacturing thirium and biocomponents, they would live  _ forever _ .

...as long as CyberLife didn’t file for bankruptcy, what with their relentless work. It was a catch 22 if ever there was one. They were reliant on a global corporation to stay in business, while working to shut their main source of income down forever.

At least Markus never lost his fighting spirit, or his vision of androids and humans living together side by side.  _ Just look at Connor and his lieutenant _ , he’d say, happily using them as a prime example. Not only could androids and humans be firm friends, but love one another as equals. It was a nice idea, but ultimately one that made him feel oddly lacking. He’d never wanted companionship before, he’d been perfectly happy as an autonomous unit, he didn’t technically  _ need _ anyone else. But now that he felt differently, it was terribly awkward even to consider making the first move. He was several years old, he should  _ know _ what to do, or say, and how. But even as February came along, and the looming shadow of  _ Valentine’s Day _ , he’d never felt so lost for words. More convinced than ever that Markus and North were the perfect match, he kept himself out of the equation. He wouldn’t want to be the one to come between them. They deserved happiness, and if they’d found even a sliver of it in each other, then he’d be their biggest supporter.

And then, on that day he didn’t know whether to loathe or fear or want more than anything, he found an envelope tucked into his jacket pocket. He came out of standby, and there it was, plain white and like velvet to the touch. His eyes darted around the room, an old, abandoned library where he and two dozen other androids were hiding away. No one in his immediate vicinity looked like they were up to no good. He opened the envelope, unsure what to expect. Or, no. He had an idea what to expect, he just didn’t see why an android would give another a Valentine’s Day card. It was completely illogical - and yet, there it was. A hand painted card depicting a dark blue, star studded sky over a certain Detroit landmark that had come to symbolize the android movement for freedom. Hart Plaza.

thirium pump working hard and fast in his chest, he opened the card onto a handwritten note, that said, simply:

_ When you fall in love, will it be completely, _

_ Or will you never fall in love? _

_ Hart Plaza. 9:00 PM _

No signature. Nothing to distinguish it from any other card, except for the reference to a song from a hundred years ago, and the hand painted motif. It had to be Markus. Who else?  _ Who else _ would paint him a sky full of stars over the most significant place in their shared history? But then came that other, more insidious voice at the back of his mind palace, pointing out it could be anyone. It could be anyone who was there, that night, anyone who had heard of it, knew how much it meant to him (and indeed, to anyone emotionally invested in the android cause). In fact, it could very easily be someone else - and all for the better, wasn’t it. It was time to move on from his unseemly infatuation, that he himself had dubbed ‘an obsession’. ‘Unhealthy’.

He had the entire day to convince himself not to go, but when the day drew to a close, Simon found himself walking at a brisk pace. He had nothing to lose by turning up. He wasn’t the one risking rejection, putting his heart out there. It would be beyond mere cruelty not to show up. He’d like to think he wasn’t cruel.

***

Simon couldn’t remember a time when Valentine’s Day meant anything in particular to him. It had always been a human tradition, kept alive by humans who both loved and hated the holiday. But coming up on Hart Plaza he couldn’t ignore the sense of elation buzzing inside him. The entire plaza was lit up by heart shaped lights and ornaments in all the colors of the rainbow, not just dreary, generic pinks and baby blues; and it wasn’t just hearts either, but stars and prisms and banners and string lights, all arranged in an orderly chaos. It brought a smile to his lips, despite his thirium pump working overtime with nervous tension. Music flowed in gentle currents across the big square, and lured those that had braved the February chill to dance. Hand in hand, cheek to cheek, all variations on the theme of love. Best friends, partners, parents and their children - not a single speck of cynicism to their smiling faces, and it was easy to get caught up in the atmosphere. Children ran chasing each other, rounding him on the way, smiling and happy. Couples so wrapped up in each other nothing existed but their loved one, and the music. Proud family members, borne from blood ties or the kind you choose along the way. There were androids there, too, but no one that looked up at him, lighting up like starshine.

No crowds parting like a sea before him, no eyes meeting his from across the space, no secret message sent across the ether. Nothing happened. No one came.

He told himself he was early, that’s probably it. As the minutes ticked by past 9 o’clock, he told himself Markus (or whoever his secret Valentine turned out to be) was running late. He waited twenty minutes, his heart beating slower for every minute that went by, when it seemed for all intents and purposes that he had been stood up. No two ways to look at it - but, no harm done. He’d come here as courtesy, nothing more than a sense or willingness to show compassion towards someone who had taken a risk and subsequently got cold feet. He turned to leave, perfectly willing to leave it at that, when all of a sudden something caught his attention even with the music acting a buffer to drown out other noises. Someone was running. Towards him. Someone perfectly unique, someone unforgettable, irreplaceable, someone without whom he couldn’t imagine existence.

“Simon! Wait!  _ Simon! _ ”

“Markus?”

Doubt reared its ugly head - just because he was here it didn’t mean he was the one who gave him the card. There could be a hundred different reasons they were both here, with the lights of the decorations in their eyes like falling stars - but the closer Markus got, the more awkward he seemed. Markus, of all people, who could make up his mind in the blink of an eye and stick to it come what may, stood in front of him, looking lost...and  _ found _ at the same time. “Hi,” he said, teeth flashing through a barely there grin.

Fear, the bastard cousin of doubt, trickled into Simon’s mind palace. Logic and reason both pointed to a conclusion he wasn’t ready to face, now it was here, standing in front of him, a bundle of excited nerves. It was Markus all along.

“You got my card,” he said, looking less sure of himself the longer Simon chose not to speak (but what could he say? How could he possibly put everything into words and not seem a lovesick fool?).

Simon nodded. “You could have signed it. For the sake of expediency.”

“What do you mean? Wasn’t it obvious?”

Perhaps that was his curse - to see everything so clearly, and expect everyone else to do the same. Markus had a way of making things seem very simple if you just looked at them from a certain angle.

“I think my answer tells you otherwise...” Simon stifled an artificial sigh, however appropriate it might be. Lifting his hand to cup Markus’s face and faltering halfway, instead brushing his arm. “With your card-- are you asking me what I think you are?”

Markus’s hands lifted in silent echo of his gesture, one hand to each of his elbows. “Paraphrasing Victor Young and Edward Heyman...yeah.” Markus smiled, and just the sight of it filled Simon with something a lot like courage. He felt brave, despite his doubts and apprehensions. He stepped closer, and like a miracle in disguise, he felt Markus do the same.

“Forever is a long time…” said Simon, unable to take his eyes off Markus’s face. “With the way things are, you don’t even know if we’ll have forever. Are you sure that’s the promise you want to make me?”

By the look on Markus’s face, he got his point across. They both knew what was at stake, not just for them, but for all of their people. At least from Simon’s point of view it seemed rather irrational to speak of love in terms of chronological excess. But then Markus leaned in closer yet, with a fresh smile on his face that was reflected in the warmth of his eyes.

“If not forever, then...how about ‘completely’?”

It struck him as a touch sentimental, but maybe that was just what Simon needed in his life, such as it was. In any case, he was glad for the compromise...corny, though it was. Marked by the years spent caring for his owner and father figure, perhaps. He returned the smile, and closed the distance, bringing his arms around Markus’s waist. It was immensely gratifying to feel Markus’s fingers clasping behind his neck. “How about we love each other to the best of our abilities, one day at a time?”

The chuckle that rolled off of Markus in brilliant little waves took Simon by surprise, but not so much as what he said next: “North said you’d want to negotiate terms.”

So that’s why they had been exchanging such intense looks over the past two months and change? The more Markus smiled, happy as can be, the easier it was for Simon to find it a plausible explanation. “Did she, now? What else did she say about me?”

“That I’d better not hurt you, or she’d dismantle me while I’m in standby and dump the parts in the Detroit river.”

The images conjured up by that description made Simon chuckle with startled wonder. It sure sounded like her. Fierce and loyal to a fault. Hurt her family, and suffer the consequences… That left only one more question, before he’d dare the leap into the unknown. “Why here? Why Valentine’s?” Or two questions, whose answers turned out to be directly linked to one another.

“Because this is where everything changed for us. Because this is the only day out of the whole year that it looks like this. I wanted to see the lights reflected in your eyes, to see you smile...”

It was all the answers Simon needed. This wasn’t about the day itself, or its significance to the human population, but about replacing a traumatic memory with something completely new. Going forward, they could pick out this day from their database and relive it as many times as they wanted, and make new memories every day they were granted. They would learn from each other, know one another more intimately than any human could truly understand, and it started tonight - under a sea of fireworks and string lights and all the colors of the rainbow, Simon whispered across their wireless connection, that he would show Markus the world through his eyes.

He held out his bare hand, mother-of-pearl white reflecting every burst of color around them. “Take my hand. Dance with me.”

That first touch of wireless connection was electric, taking them both by surprise. To know everything there was to know about someone else’s past, their motivations, their fears and hopes, everything exchanged in the blink of an eye. Simon knew then that this was the best decision he’d ever made. And what’s more, he knew the feeling was mutual. Markus’s bright, happy laughter rang across the plaza, mingling with the music, and they danced.

Temple to temple, cheek to cheek, hand in hand, two hearts perfectly compatible, they were closer to one another than physically possible; both of them knowing that this was only the beginning.

The End


End file.
